God’s Justice and Grace 上帝的公义与恩典
Dexu Xia
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. Nahum 1:3
English Romantic painter John Martin (1789–1854) is known for his apocalyptic landscapes depicting the destruction of civilizations. In these fantastic scenes, humans are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the destruction and powerless against the approaching doom. One painting, The Fall of Nineveh, depicts people fleeing the coming destruction of mounting waves under dark rolling clouds.
More than two thousand years before Martin’s painting, the prophet Nahum prophesied against Nineveh foretelling its judgment. The prophet used images of mountains quaking, hills melting, and the earth trembling (Nahum 1:5) to symbolize God’s wrath on those who’d oppressed others for their own gain. However, God’s response to sin is not without grace. While Nahum reminds his listeners of God’s power, he notes that He is “slow to anger” (v. 3) and “cares for those who trust in him” (v. 7).
Descriptions of judgment are hard to read, but a world where evil isn’t confronted would be a terrible one. Thankfully the prophet doesn’t end on that note. He reminds us that God desires a good and just world: “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!” (v. 15). That good news is Jesus, who suffered the consequences of sin so we can have peace with God (Romans 5:1, 6). By: Matt Lucas
How do you want God to defend the oppressed? How might your understanding of His wrath against injustice prompt you to speak up for the oppressed?
Father, I pray for those around the world who suffer unjustly.
耶和华不轻易发怒，大有能力，万不以有罪的为无罪。—那鸿书1章3节
英国浪漫主义画家约翰·马丁（John Martin, 1789-1854年）以描绘文明毁灭的末日景象而闻名。在他所描绘的这些奇景中，人类被巨大的浩劫所吞噬，对即将到来的厄运完全无能为力。他的其中一幅画作《尼尼微的陷落》，描绘了人们在滚滚乌云的笼罩下，试图逃离那即将到来要将他们彻底毁灭的灾难。
在马丁创作这幅画的两千多年前，先知那鸿就预言了尼尼微会受到审判。先知用大山震动、小山消融和大地摇晃的景象（那鸿书1章5节），象征上帝对那些贪图私利而施行欺压的人大发烈怒。然而，上帝在对付罪的时候，并非没有恩典。那鸿提醒百姓上帝大有能力，也指出上帝“不轻易发怒”（3节）并且“认得那些投靠祂的人”（7节）。
关于审判的信息读起来固然沉重，但一个纵容罪恶的世界却更可怕。感恩的是，先知的话并没有就此打住，他继续提醒我们，上帝渴望的是一个美好又公义的世界：“看哪，那传报佳音、宣告和平之人的脚，已经站在山上”（15节，新译本）。这佳音就是耶稣，祂承受罪的后果，让我们能够与上帝和好（罗马书5章1、6节）。作者： 陆明德
你希望上帝如何保护受压迫的人？
当你了解上帝会因不公义而发怒，如何促使你为受压迫的人发声？
天父上帝，我要为世界各地遭受不公义对待的人祷告，求祢怜悯他们，祢的恩典临到他们